Goro Takemura x Reader

Thirty-Five

"Please.", with a half-bow, Takemura opened your car door.

Charmed, you chuckled and took the hand that he offered you. It was a gentleman kind of gesture, he guided you out of the car, and as you stood up straight next to him, he placed it on his arm.

Together, the two of you started to walk through a park.

Night City was an ugly place of concrete and neon signs. Mostly littered with trash.

But around one or two corners a gem could be found. One of them was a park, hidden between the calmer streets of the city Center, embedded in the ground. Above, bridges of glass carried people across your head.

You weren't sure if the plants that grew in this place were real. Nor natural, so to say. Some of the conferees rooms of the Arasaka Tower also had plants, but they did not smell nor did they feel like something that came from the ground. They were made, formed to be perfect and without flaw.

They pleased the human eye but failed to touch the soul.

This park, however, was both. It managed to make you feel something although you weren't sure what.

Was it good?

And if it was, was it enough to touch your heart?

As you walked, palm trees passed by while small flowers of violette bathed between their roots in the shadows. A scent reached your nose, but you couldn't tell if this was the scent of flowers or just perfume.

"I haven't seen a place like this in Night City yet.", Takemura said as he walked with you down some stairs.

The sound of running water filled your ears. It almost reminded you of a waterfall. Unfortunately, disappointment struck as you had to realise that it was just a fountain. An ugly one to add to that, only made of squares and straight lines.

You longed for something old that appeared to harbour old spirits and forgotten ancestors.

"I can smell the chlorine.", you said with a hint of sadness in your words.

Confused, Takemura stopped and looked at the water that ran down a blank surface of black concrete.

"It's not from the ocean.", he said. "You won't smell salt in it."

Your eyes narrowed, heavy with disappointment and the longing for something else. Something alive that wasn't made by human hands and their desperation for perfection.

"It's not even real water...", you mumbled to yourself and turned away. "What is real? And what is made?"

Any other person would have frowned in confusion. But Takemura did not. Instead, his face softened and he let out a deep breath.

"Humans are desperate for perfection, are they not?", gently, he took your arm again to pull you away, down a smaller path that led through an archway overgrown by flowers. "But even with perfection, they are unsatisfied."

Your fingers entangled in the sleeve of his shirt. It made you angry to hear the truth from his mouth. And at the same time you knew that the thrive for perfection was fuelled by nothing but ignorance.

Selfish ignorance that would never satisfy the soul.

"Ha!", at the thought you laughed out loud. "Goro... This is depressing. Tell me something fun. Something that will sooth my craving for peace."

"Hm...", for a moment he closed his eyes while a soft breeze gently caressed the goblets of blooming flowers that hung above your heads. "This is quite the challenge, I must admit."

"Are you giving up that easily?", you gave him a nudge to the shoulder.

"No. But I need to ask for more time. If you will allow it."

"Sure.", you shrugged. "I am starving."

"Then allow me.", with gentle dedication he led you into another direction, up some stairs, until you reached a platform.

Above, a ceiling of glass kept rain away while the smell of oil and fried fish was in the air. Herbs and spices mixed together, a perfect blend of spicy and savoury.

With your eyes closed, you took a deep breath and had to smile.

You knew this kind of smell, Asian food, all thrown together by countries of the same continent, connected yet so different in their ways.

It reminded you of days in a sheltered home, with maids and teachers who would always do their best to look after you. The smell made the soft keys of a piano sound.

Why did Hanako stop playing the piano?

Your heart still longed for it every now and then.

Like a gentleman, Goro led you to a table of stained red glass, pulled out a chair and waited for you to take a seat. With a nod of your head you thanked him for his polite gesture and patiently watched until he was also seated.

He looked almost dreamy in this dim light, the outline of his face caressed by neon violet that kissed blue. It seeped into the white of his eyes and made them shimmer fresh water pearls.

A gentle breath escaped you.

But before a compliment could leave your mouth your attention was caught by a sudden movement.

A gigantic koi passed over your heads. The orange of the hologram flickered as black spots appeared and the white head moved. It looked so real, it made you reach out.

It felt slightly static as your hand went through its body and for a short second a hole appeared.

"I am sorry to disappoint you, Arasaka-sama.", the expression on Takemura's face could have been taken as loving and if not that at the very least soft.

He had his arms rested on the tabletop, fingers entangled as always and watched how the childish mesmerisation faded from your eyes.

Instead, a weight pressed down on your heart.

"I don't even remember how their scales feel.", you said with a sad smile. "Or how it feels like when they try to suck on my fingers."

You believed that every child knew the surprise that came with trying to dip a hand into a pond full of fish. To you it had been odd that they weren't able to hurt you but rather cleaned your feet.

But Takemura seemed unmoved by this thought. Then again, you and him had grown up entirely different.

You were Arasaka, master, and he was samurai, servant.